User Reviews

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Submitted by
dennis
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: November 24, 2014

Bottom Line:

After owning several speakers
(all bass reflex) i stept in The quadral tl range
First i had the montan mkv wich Is good, but this vulkan Is really out of this world
I use it with a tube amp which Is supurb with the band midrange
Bass Is really realistic
Nice 3d imaging and immens detail
Do need stong powerfull amp dow

I was in love with them from first sight!I came across a demo pair at rock bottom price (2000 euros) and made them mine!
Lets just say that it is a big speaker using a 26cm long throw ISOPHON woofer that is TL loaded,
a magneticaly driven (neodymium) planar (push-pull) midrange and an also neodymium driven ribbon tweeter.
Both these speakers are Quadral's own designs and were used in Vulkan MKV and Titan MKV speakers.
Xover points are 400Hz/4000Hz while specs say that it will span from 20Hz-80000Hz (+/- 3dbs).
Sound:BIG bass but not of the one note kind! It's fast,articulate and can convey the wood tones of the acoustic base in all their glory. But you can expect that from a well designed TL speaker...
What sets this speaker apart is the quality of the midrange:Out of this world! The planar element is fast,fast and sweet! !Women's voices never sounded so sweet to my ears! With just the right "weight",timbre","ambience" etc etc etc!
And then comes the tweeter that is perfectly matched to the mid and has a superb extension.
The sound of hi-hats,chimes,bells and whistles seems like it extends for ever...
The whole speaker is voiced "gently" (as opposed to "forward") and favors long listening sessions.
I would say that small jazz/gentle rock/opera and classical is your best bet!
I admit to play "harder" music from time to time but the speaker exposes nasty moments in the recording very easily!
If a producer has "pushed" the bass,or findled with the compresion and limiters you will hear it!
I frequently visit audio shows and i always find myself wondering about the amount of money one has to spent on a new speaker to get better sound.Usually it's around the 20000 euro point!
Now here we come to the "watch it" part:
1)These speakers need power!Because of the price that can be found as used speakers, people tend to mate them with cheap electronics,which is a recipe for disaster!
I use 150Watt SS monos for the woofers only and a 2X100 Watts tube amp for the rest.
If one amp is going to be used i would opt for a 2X250 minimum!
2)They need space and good placing away from walls and corners-so please don't use them in 3X4m room!
My room is 4,5X8 m and they are at least one meter away from walls!Minimum distance from speaker:3m!
3)If you can biamp and use tubes for the mids and tweeters (please not 2X40 Watts as they can take up to 120 watts) you will be in heaven!
4)Always listen with the grilles off-they tend to muddy the sound.
5)Prepare your wife for the size and weight and your neighbours about the bass!